Legends and letters
by PixieYunie
Summary: Rikku felt a deep regret that she was never able to tell him that she loved him. She wrote letters and hoped her words would reach him. An Aurikku fanfic
1. Chapter 1

_Here is a story from me about Auron and __Rikku; I keep thinking how cute they look together so I just had to write this. This isn't beta-read, so I'm really sorry if there are any mistakes. _

_I don't own any part of Final Fantasy X, it all belongs to Square enix, if Auron did belong to me I would have gotten rid of that annoying collar ages ago._

_Anyways, please enjoy. Love PixieYunie._

_Legends and letters_

Chapter 1 Letters

She carried her letters to the Moonflow. She held them tightly for they contained all her feelings. Feelings she had hidden for a long time. Even for a precious cousin, she loved to death, but Yunie had her own problems to take of. She hated to be a burden and that's why she would smile at daytime. Never would she admit to anyone that she cried herself to sleep at night. She wanted to be strong, so that he would be proud of her. That he would smile in that secret smile of his that was always hidden by a collar. The first time she saw it, it turned her legs into jelly pudding. Things stayed that way for the rest of their time together.

He never was the kind of man to smile freely. People knew him to be a gruff and unfriendly person. They thought he didn't have any feelings; after all he was the legendary guardian. She thought different.

One time, long ago, she told him she would smile for him too. Now she wondered if he would be disappointed if he knew her smiles were fake.

The Moonflow looked the same as three years ago, it was still the same. She had changed though. She met him here for the first time, and for this reason she would always come back to this place. She remembered everything from that special day as clear as crystal. She only had to close her eyes, to see his eye that bore into her soul. From the beginning she had known he was trouble with a capital T.

She could see the emotion he tried to hide in his eye; she could see the sadness, the bitterness, the pain and the tiredness. The fact that his other eyes was closed by a horrid looking scar, made her mourn over it. His eyes had the most beautiful colour she had ever seen, and she could easily drown in them, she had heard of the cliché, but it was the first time she actually believed it.

The dark, deep voice had awoken something in her young body. At first she thought she only had a little innocent crush. When she realized the depth of her feelings, he was already a cloud of pyreflies. Not even Rikku screamed her most honest feelings to a cloud of light thingies, that couldn't even talk back. Her lost chance to tell him how she really felt turned into sadness. The sadness turned over the years into a deep regret. Her regret was now written on hundreds sheets of paper. All letters were for him, even though she never asked his address.

She wrote about her attempt to move on with her life, she tried to fall in love again, but no guy or man could come close to the way she felt about him. Without him the day had lost his sparkle and the sun seemed less bright. She also told him about the little things that happened to her, like going shopping with Yunie. She told him about Vegnagun and how she had heard his voice during that final battle with Shuyin. It had given her the strength to keep on going, to survive.

She told him about Tidus' mysterious return and his beautiful wedding. Yunie finally married the love of her life. Her letters were full of her guilt about being jealous at Yunie's pregnancy. Of course, she was happy for her cousin, but she wanted to share the same happiness with her lover. If he even felt the same.

She never figured out what he felt about her. He never was a man of words. She rather considered him a man of action. Probably why it bugged her he never made a move on her. Not that Auron was a man that made moves in that area. He never touched, kissed her or whispered cute words in her ear that made her shiver. She didn't know what he liked. What his favourite food and drink was, except for the Sake, of course.

She threw the letters in the deep water of the Moonflow. Hoping against all odds, her words would reach him, she kept staring at the almost black water long after the last bit of paper was gone.

Suddenly she heard light footsteps behind her and she turned around swiftly, ready to take action if necessary. A few metres away stood a six month pregnant former summoner. She had one placed over her steady growing belly. Being pregnant made her even more beautiful and she seemed able to lighten an entire room. At the moment though, her face showed concern for her best friend and cousin.

He had been right; Yunie was an easy person to read. Rikku put on her mask of cheerfulness to easy her worries. It never failed.

"Yunie, what are you doing here?" She put her arm in the air and waved. "You should be at home in bed and making sure Tidus is doing his job instead of playing Blitzball with the chubby daddy!"

Yunie smiled and her worry already faded from her mind. "I wanted to, but then my favourite cousin went missing."

Rikku ran to Yunie, gave her a hug and a loud peck on the cheek. "That's not fair. You are hurting Brothers feelings here!"

Yunie giggled and put her arm around her cousin's slim waist. "I thought Brother had a crush on that Al Bhed girl, what was her name again?" Yuna frowned and thought for a moment, she never had been good with names.

"Iris, silly!!" Rikku said loudly. Her heart mourned some more. Even Brother had moved on from his crush and had found his soul mate. She had hers too; unfortunately for her he had been dead for over thirteen years. That was just her luck.

"I'm always wondering what you are doing here. When ever you go missing, you end up here. What's so special about this place?" Yuna had been wondering about that, Rikku spend a lot of her time at the Moonflow. She also noticed how sad she had looked, her shoulder had been hanging and even her hair seemed less cheerful. Only when she made her presence known, Rikku had been happy and hyper. Worry returned to Yuna, was Rikku really as happy as she pretended to be?

Yuna had been so lost in thought that she didn't notice the temporary look of fear in Rikku's eyes. Nor did she notice the gulp that Rikku took.

"I don't know. I find it pretty here, I guess." Rikku smiled at Yuna brightly. "I became guardian here remember!" She hoped Yunie would buy it.

Yuna only nodded and turned toward the water and stared at it for a moment. It was a beautiful place, but not really a place where Rikku would feel happy. It was too serene here, too quiet, too much pyreflies.

"I once heard about a legend about a young woman named Linndoriel fell in love with a man. The man and she were perfectly happy together. One day faith ripped them apart and the man left to the Farplane. Linndoriel was overcome by grief. She desperately tried to move on with her life but found she was unable to do so. One night when she awoke, her eyes still wet from the tears she shed, she decided to write down all her feelings. The next morning she went to this place and threw them in the water, hoping her words would reach him. The faith saw the love that was between them and decided to bring him back to life. They spend the rest of their lives together until they had gone old and left for the Farplane together smiling."

Yuna looked at Rikku and saw that she was hurt by this story; she tried to push back the tears desperately.

"Legends are just pretty stories, Yunie. Nothing more! You shouldn't believe in them." Even to Rikku her smile seemed false.

"Shall we go back to Besaid then, before Lulu starts to worry and sends the entire Blitzball team after us." Yuna grinned and grabbed the hand of her best friend. She promised herself that she would be there for her. When the time was right, she would tell her everything.

Rikku nodded and together they walked to the airship.


	2. Chapter 2 Memories are all they are?

_Hi__ya everybody__, here is chapter two of Legends and le__tters. I'm planning on making this story__ a lot less sad than the first chappie. The beginning will be a bit sad though, but everything will work out fine, because this couple is in serious need of a happy ending, don't ya think? XD_

_I'm sorry it took me so long to update but I have been on a holiday (France WOOSH) and at the moment I'm in the middle of an excavation. Anyways me apologizes._

_This __story is__ still not beta read, I warned you!!_

_Disclaimer: I still don't own Final Fantasy, if I did Auron wouldn't have been a cloud of pyreflies at the end and he would have gotten a lot more screentime._

_Enough notes from the author, let's get on with the story_

Chapter 2 Memories are all they are?

That night when Rikku was finally alone in her room on the airship she felt completely drained of emotions.

She sat on her king-size bed (she bought it on impulse) and stared to a blank spot on the wall. She couldn't cry, she felt as if all her tears had already been shed. It was cold in her room, but Rikku didn't notice and if she did she wouldn't have cared.

Throwing away her letters, dumping them in some stupid lake caused her heart to break once again. She hadn't expected it. It was as if she really let him go now and she didn't know if her heart could bear it.

Somehow the letters had become a part of her body and soul and dumping them felt like a body part had been ripped of. It left her wounded and bleeding.

Would she have felt any better if she kept the letters on her oak wooden desk, bound together by a pretty orange ribbon? She liked to think so. At least than a part of him would be close to her heart.

Why had she thrown her feelings away again? Oh yes, because she wanted to believe in the legend of Linndoriel. It seemed a foolish thing to do now. The story was probably made up by drunken Monks of Yevon to deceive idiots, and here she was, the biggest of them all. Desperate enough to believe in it, even though she knew her head thought it was all a lie.

No legend was ever real, not even Auron. The legends that people told about them now, held about as much truth as the many petty stories she told as a thief on a daily base.

She had heard stories about how he single handedly killed twenty fiends with one blow of his sword. When she first heard them, she had laughed. Auron had been a great swordsman but not even he was that good. He wasn't some mythical figure send from heaven, he had been a man. A man that had done extraordinary things, but a man nonetheless.

She got up from her bed, she was thirsty even though she had a drink a half an hour ago. Rikku didn't realize that it was her soul that was thirsty for love. She went into the bathroom and drank some water. She also splashed some in her face, enjoying the feel of the cold water. It made her feel alive just a little bit. She looked into the mirror and saw her reflection.

The face that looked back at her frightened her. The ones bright green eyes were now a depressing darker green. The swirls in her eyes, the best thing about her, were hardly to be seen. Her cheeks were sunken, her lips nothing but a small pale line, her body too skinny. Her long blonde hair lost its shine and strength. In other words, she looked like crap. Not even she recognized anything about the bright and happy girl she once was.

She remembered those days when she was only fifteen well. The pilgrimage had changed her in any way possible. She remembered playing foolish games with her buddy Tidus, her envy for Lulu, her arguments with Wakka, her desperate attempts to save Yuna, her trying to steal things form Kimahri, but she was always somehow caught. But most of all she remembered him.

_The thunder made her scared and all she wanted was to cry like a little baby. Unfortunately, she was in the same room as the Legendary Guardian and she didn'__t want to cry in front of him. He already found her unworthy and she didn't want to give him another chance to tell his opinion of her.__ She had wondered__ if he had a thing against the Al Bhed race or against her in person. Since he wasn't the person to discriminate, she assumed he had a thing against her alone. Was it because she was too young, too happy or because she was just __too __Rikku?_

_Rikku curled herself up underneath a table in the travel agency of Rin. She liked Rin and all, but couldn't he have made soundproof walls or something? It was mean to let people suffer like that, to let her suffer that much. It was unfair. Completely, totally, utterly unfair!_

_"Rikku." A voice said, quite close __above her. She looked up and saw Auron hovering above her. If she wasn't so scared she would have jumped and ran away. Her fear kept her in place and she had no other option but to look up in his face._

_"Go to bed, we leave early." He sounded as gruff as ever. Rikku looked at him but didn't answer. How did he get it in his sane mind (at least she assumed he was sane)to think that she able to sleep this night.__ If she heard or saw lightning bolt she would already be unable to sleep. So no way in Spira that she would sleep now. The only way he could make her sleep was to hit her in the head or cast sleep on her. But he wouldn't be so mean, now would he?_

_"__Rikku, get up__. I can assure you that you are quite safe in this agency and most especially in a room with Yuna and Lulu.__ Asleep."Auron sounded even more annoyed than he normally did and she had tried so hard not to make him angry._

_"I'm sorry, Auron." her voice was shaky and confirmed her fear. "But I can't sleep. I'm scared." Even though she didn't want to, her eyes welled up with tears. She took her eyes of Auron to hide her tears. She buried her head between her knees. _

_Suddenly she felt her body being lifted by strong arms. She didn't know what he was doing and for a moment she forgot all about her fear. Soon she found herself in his lap and __strong arms wrapped around her. She had expected a lot of things from Auron, but certainly not this. She always figured he wasn't the kind of guy to comfort somebody when they where upset. She was clearly wrong. She also hadn't expected to feel so safe in his arms, so secure._

_"It's okay to be scared, Rikku. We are all scared sometimes. But don't let fear control your life. It makes you miss the good thing in life."_

_Then he started to rub over her nose, causing her to close her eyes. She didn't want to, she was so afraid but she couldn't keep her eyes open. She slowly heft herself relax and she realized how sleepy she had been. All the fear and fighting had left its mark. _

_"Auron?" she asked with a drowsy voice. _

_"Sleep, Rikku. It's going to be a hard day tomorrow." His voice was gentle now. _

_Her last thought before the world faded away and she entered a dreamless and much wanted sleep was that Auron was a nicer person than she held him account for. _

Her cheeks were once again wet, when she remembered that one precious memory. It was one of many. But in a way it was the beginning, the beginning of her feelings, for him. The beginning of her growing up. Perhaps even the beginning of her life.

She let herself fall back on the back and hugged her pillow. Rikku didn't care her pillow got wet and smudgy. She needed something to hug and this was the only thing she could bare.

Rikku was unaware of the person that was watching her in a small opening of the door. A green and blue eye watched a precious cousin with much pain, worry and guilt. Yuna didn't know what was wrong with her best and most cheerful friend and she felt foolish for always assuming the happy mood of Rikku. Now she knew it was all an act and she had no idea what to do about it. She closed the door without a sound and walked away. When she was in her own room she was already making plans for paying a visit to the Fayth.

_That was the end of this one, hope you'll like it and all. I know it was another sad chapter, but next one will be happier. I'm not sure if I have to add a scene about our favorite guardian on the Farplane. Still thinking about that one. _


	3. Chapter 3 Talking

_Heya everybody, here is chapter three of Legends and Letters. Yuna finally figures out what is wrong with Rikku and they have a talk about love and saying goodbye.__ I also added another flashback, just because it was fun to write.__ And a it-was-meant-to-be-short scene about Auron. This chapter kinda ended up longer than I expected. Oops!_

_Disclaimer: I don't own Final Fantasy __X;__ if I did I would have made another game that was only about Auron and Rikku. Pity that will never happen. Still I keep on dreaming. _

_I want to thank everybody for all the reviews, it felt really good to know people like my story. Thanks, guys!_

_This chapter is dedicated to Telcontrian__, because she gave me great __advice__ and without her this story wouldn't be written with the same amount of fun. _

The next morning when she woke, Rikku felt a bit better. She yawned and got out of bed. When she began to get dressed however, there was a loud knock on the door. Rikku quickly put on her fluffy orange bathrobe to hide her skinny body. If anybody saw, people would worry.

Rikku opened the door slowly; her energy was still drained from the day before. In front of her was Yunie, smiling with a large tray with delicious food in her hands. Before Rikku could say anything, Yunie had already entered her room and put the tray on a table near Rikku's bed.

"You're up early." Rikku said, while rubbing the sleep from her eyes. Even on the pilgrimage Yunie was always the one that had most trouble getting up. The fact that she was now standing in her room at 8 o'clock in the morning, already beaming with energy was a bit of a shock. Bit being an understatement here.

"Oh, I was already up at dawn." Yunie shrugged, as if it was of no importance. Rikku however found it all vey odd.

"Who are you and what having you done to my cousin?" Rikku studied Yunie's face, checking for anything that seemed out of the ordinary. She seemed a bit tired, but what can one expect when being pregnant.

"The baby woke me; I think she needed some attention." Yunie smiled "I think she will resemble her father a lot." She patted her forever growing belly with affection.

"Thank all the Machina _she_ will have a great mom. How do you know the baby is going to be a girl anyway?" Rikku asked when braiding her long blonde hair.

"I don't know, just a feeling I guess." Yunie started to put the food on the table. From what Rikku could see there were freshly baked croissants, orange juice, chocolate muffins and omelets just like Rikku liked them. Yunie really had been working hard to make all this food. Rikku wondered why and had a bit of a bad feeling about it.

"Spooky. Such things would freak me out, you know. Just like the lightning thingies." She made expressive movements with her hands, to show Yunie how happy she was. Or pretended to be.

"It's not spooky, Rikku." Yunie said kindly and sat down on the bed. "Sometimes it comes in handy. Sometimes I just know things and I can't explain why. Just like I know there is something you're not telling me."

Rikku's eyes widened, she certainly hadn't expected that one. "Yunie, what would I be not telling you? You're my best friend! You know very well I can't keep secrets. Teehee, I just can't keep my mouth shut." She hoped it sounded convincing, she tried hard enough anyway.

Yunie motioned wither hand for Rikku to come sit next to her. The love for her cousin made her unable to refuse.

"I hoped you would tell me just that. Whatever it is, you can tell me Rikku!" Yunie's voice sounded a bit desperate. "If there is anything I can do, I will do it. You have been there for me on the pilgrimage and all those years after; let me be there for you for a change.

She couldn't look Yunie in the eyes. She knew if she would she would start crying and telling everything. She had promised herself she wouldn't burn Yunie with her troubles. Yunie had already suffered enough.

"I'm fine, Yunie. All is well with Rikku-poo." She waved her hand in the air. A thing she often did on the pilgrimage.

Rikku dared herself to look at Yunie, who now sat silently next to her. When she looked more closely, she saw a tear rolling down her cousin's cheek. She had to swallow her own tears. The one thing she tried to stop from happening happened. Yunie was hurting.

"I'm sorry, Rikku. I should have known something was wrong with you ages ago. I should have noticed you weren't yourself. I should have noticed the way you lost weight, the way you went to bed early." The tears came faster now. "I should have noticed…"

"I didn't want you to notice, Yunie." Rikku spoke softly; her own cheeks were wet from freshly fallen tears. Yunie's pleading had finally broken her barrier. She couldn't handle it on her own anymore. It was finally time to tell.

I should have noticed. All that time I only thought about myself, totally forgetting about you!" Yunie sniffed loudly, in a very un high summoner kind of way. "Yevon, I feel so stupid now. You've been hurting since the pilgrimage was over. Please forgive me"

"Yunie, it's okay. Really, it's fine. I don't blame you. There is nothing to be forgiven." Rikku hugged Yunie tightly. The realization that she was close was a comfort for Rikku.

"Thank you, Rikku. I don't know what I would be without you." Yunie gave her a big sloppy kiss, which was answered with a "Gross!" from Rikku's side.

"Are you finally gonna tell me who broke your heart, so I can kill him in the most horrible way I have yet to think of." Yunie gave a weak smile when she wiped her tears away.

Rikku took a deep breath and told her heart to calm down. It was okay to tell about him, it was going to be okay. "That's going to be a bit of a problem, you see. Since he is already dead."

Yunie forced Rikku to look at her. "What are you saying here? Surely, you don't mean who I think you mean. That would be impossible. Totally improbable. Aur..."

"Yes, Yunie, I mean who you think you mean." Interrupted Rikku. "The person who broke my heart _is_ Auron." Saying his name already brought back painful memories. But not all her memories of him were painful, some made her smile, some still melted her heart.

"In the name of the Fayth" Yunie sounded shocked. "You loved Auron?" Rikku had never seen Yunie like this. She was completely caught of guard. Had the subject not been this serious, Rikku would have laughed at her cousin's behavior. Yunie's hands were white and shaking, her cheeks were flushed and her eyes were wide and a bit wild.

"I _love_ Auron" Rikku corrected. "The good, the bad and the ugly." Somehow, telling the truth felt like a liberation to her. She didn't know if Yunie would understand her feelings and why she had behaved the way she did. At least she told somebody, and that was enough, for now.

She already felt a bit guilty for not telling anybody earlier. She still wanted to protect Yunie from getting hurt. It had been her purpose on the Pilgrimage and it always will be. Her story should have been told before. Because it wasn't only her story, but also his. And if one thing had to be told according to her, it was telling his.

He had said when he was send: '_This is your story now_.'

Complete bullocks if you asked Rikku, how can this be her story now, if his was so closely connected to hers? It was their story, even if they had never been together (in a way she could only dream of). To her it was their story and it always will be.

"B-b-but," Yunie needed some time to recover from the shock. "you two are so different, in every way of the word. And he was so well, uhm dead" Her hands were lying in her lap. The food she brought was forgotten. Rikku was thinking about more important thing than having breakfast now.

"Did the fact that Tidus was a dream, stop you from loving him?" Rikku retorted. Yunie shook her head and blushed "I knew he was dead. I knew since Guadosalam. Still I started to love him."

"You knew?" Yunie asked and Rikku nodded. "You knew he would leave Spira when the Pilgrimage was over?" Rikku nodded again.

Knowing he would leave, didn't make saying goodbye less hard. She had been fifteen. Her young and foolish heart had been dreaming in vain about him staying with her in Spira, loving her, creating a family together. She had hope, but all her hope had been crushed when that seemingly strong body turned into a cloud of pyreflies.

"Auron, did he return your feelings?" Yunie asked carefully. Rikku had known that Yunie would ask that question. Yunie had her moment with Tidus in Macalania she had cherished for two years. Rikku wished she would have had such a 'personal moment' with Auron. It gave her something to blush over at night, instead of something to cry about.

"I don't know, Yunie, honestly. I never had the courage to tell him. Sometimes I thought there was some sort of spark between us. Other times I felt foolish for even thinking such impossibilities."

"What do you mean? What happened?" Yunie asked her cousin. "Tell me if I seem too curious. Or ask too many questions."

Rikku began to tell, and when she told about that one day after Home was destroyed, everything came back to her, she could smell all the scents, feel the salt of her tears on her skin and hear his voice one more time.

_She ran through the corridors, she didn't see where she was going. Tears had blinded her vision as much as her anger. The tears were for all the friends and family she lost. Her anger was for Wakka, who didn't understand she was hurting. She let all the anger flow through her __body;__ it was easier to handle than grief. _

_Her Home was destroyed, the place where she grew up, where she had__ memories of her playing with her mother, even though they were vague. It was all she had. Today she lost too many people she loved, cousins, uncles, childhood friends, next door neighbors, close friends and former boyfriends. How could she cope with that grief? Too many people she would miss, too many people she needed to mourn over. _

_She lowered herself to the floor and curled herself up, arms wrapped around her knees. Tears just kept coming and she desperately tried to be angry at Wakka. But she couldn't. His words didn't seem to matter whe__n so many lif__es had been lost._

_"Rikku." She looked up and saw the man that had comforted her when she had been __afraid of the thunder. He was here again. __Was he here to comfort her again? After he held her that one night in the travel agency, she had craved his touch again. In his arms she felt safe. _

_New tears formed in her eyes and he quickly got down to her eyelevel. "Come here." His voice was warm and kind. He opened his arms and she let herself fall into them. He held her close when she cried. She clutched to his leather chest armor and cried, and cried and cried. He didn't spoke, he didn't tell her all would be okay. They both knew it wouldn't be, life would never been the same again. He was the shoulder to cry on, the man that understood her pain._

_After __what __it seemed__ like__ hours__ Rikku grew silent. All her tears had been shed, and she was lost. Where would she go from here? Auron kept holding her and she was thankful for it. She needed some warmth now._

_"Auron?" she asked softly, and she looked up to his face. Her eyes red and puffy from crying. "Where will I go from here?"_

_"You'll live, Rikku, and keep on living. And remember those you lost today." One of his bare hands stroke her hair, played with it. He seemed unconscious of the action. It made her feel small, in a good way._

_"You think I can do that. Keep on living, I mean?" At the moment her heart told her otherwise. _

_Auron nodded "You are strong, Rikku. Stronger than me."_

_Rikku was at a loss. How could she be stronger than Auron? "I'm not strong, I'm just Rikku. Happy, annoying little Rikku." She felt his arms around her tighten and she was pushed even closer to his chest. If she didn't know any better, she would think he needed her as much as she needed him._

_"That's while you keep on living, because you are happy, annoying little Rikku."_

_Rikku felt a small smile from around her lips. He knew how to make her feel better even if he was insulting her. __A question popped into her mind: Did Auron die because he was unable to live after the deaths of Jecht and Braska? She didn't dare to ask._

_"You're right, I will. I'll keep on living." Her voice was getting stronger. "I'll promise I will lead life to __its__ fullest, because there are so many people who didn't have the chance."_

_"You'll promise, you'll never let grief and regret take over your life? You promise you'll keep on living?" He looked her straight in the eye. He had her small shoulders in a firm grip. Her promise seemed important to him, so she would promise, because he had done so much for her._

_"I promise, Auron." She __whispered and his__ tight grip was loosened. _

_The voice of Vydran was suddenly heard through the intercom. Auron grunted "It's time to teach the guardian of Bevelle a lesson."_

_He got up on his feet and after that he gave Rikku a hand. "What about Wakka, can't I teach him a lesson?" Rikku asked her __companion, which__ was putting his gloves back on. She looked at this face and she could have sworn she saw a smile on his face. _

_"I think Lulu already did that job for you." Auron answered. Rikku thought he was probably right. _

_She removed the dried tears from her face and noticed a rusty eye watching her. A horrid thought struck her. "I must look like shit." Rikku said embarrassment obvious in her voice and the color of her face._

_"No, you look like happy, annoying little Rikku." He said when he walked away. _

_Somehow that made her smile._

Yunie was stunned, her mouth wide open. "I didn't know Auron could be like that!" A blush crept over the pregnant woman's cheeks. Rikku couldn't help but smile.

"In the beginning I thought he was just an old stupid meanie!" Rikku gave Yunie a familiar smirk. "Until he suddenly comforted me at the travel agency. Now that was unexpected!"

"He must have feelings for you, Rikku! He must have!" Yunie shook Rikku's shoulders. "Did he ever tell you he cared about you?? That he loved you??"

Rikku shook her head, sadly "No, not even at the end. He was just blabbing about stories."

Yunie gave a weak smile "That sounds like Auron alright." Rikku hugged her cousin another time, she always had been the touchy kind of person.

When Rikku wiped the last tears from her eyes, her stomach made a loud noise. She smiled embarrassedly. "How 'bout we eat that breakfast now?" she asked.

Yunie smiled serenely, the way only she could. "That sounds like a plan to me."

_At that moment a man far away was pondering over things that happened in the past. How long had he been here? He did not know. Sometimes it seemed like an era had already passed by, other times it __just seemed like a fortnight. Time wasn't something that existed in this place .At least not like it existed on Spira. __People didn't age, they just were the way they were, for ever._

_He, on the other hand, thought about time a lot. There wasn't much else to do, in his opinion. Jecht was playing Blitzball all day and Braska had long conversation about thing he didn't even want to understand with other High Summoners. The Farplane was host to quite a lot of them .Here a 'living' symbol for all the lost battles against Sin._

_Both of his companions of his first pilgrimage had wives to talk to. He had always been a warrior, for as long as he could remember. He never had the time for wives or girlfriends, there always had been a battle to be fought. On the Farplane there were no fiends, just peace and serenity, not something he was used to. He functioned a lot better under chaos and war, to speak plainly, here he was bored._

_Not even Tidus was here anymore to mess up things up with silly and unnecessary questions. He surely hadn't imagined that he would miss the little brat. Now he needed the kid to take his mind of things._

_Things to painful to think about. His heart seemed to break every time he thought of it, of her. He was fully aware that his 'life 'or 'afterlife' here w__as never complete without her. H__e missed her more than anything, more than the feeling of wind on his skin more than the taste of food in his mouth, or any other thing could combine._

_Finally, he could admit it, after having so many arguments with himself. He had called himself a pervert, a loser, yes even a pedophile. Still his feelings didn't change. He turned grumpy, even more than usual, because there was nothing he could do about this matter of the heart. Jecht had called him a great deal of many things lately and they were probably all true._

_Suddenly a hand touched his shoulder and he swiftly turned around__ Behind him were the best friends he had ever known__. Braska smiled serenely in the same way his daughter could and Jecht was grinning foolishly. His son obviously inherited that__ grin. _

_"The Fayth are up to something, They are restless." Braska told him in a soft voice. Jecht laughed and spoke "Yeah, before you know it a party is going on here!"_

_Auron only frowned and turned towards Braska. The only person he could talk to when he was in need for a serious conversation. Jecht was lacking in the serious department. _

_"My lord?" he asked the famed High Summoner. No matter what Braska told him, he would always call him 'my lord'. _

_"Rumors are in the air. High Summoners are smiling again. The name Linndoriel is spoken once again."__ Braska's voice still held the same mysterious tone as before._

_Jecht's loud voice once again broke the usual silence. "And I thought they just had a good …"_

_"Jecht!" Auron's voice contained an obvious warning, Jecht only shrugged._

_The in red clad man raised an eyebrow when he realized what Braska just told him. His mother had told him stories about Linndoriel when she putted him into bed. He always thought he was too smart to believe them, to him those stories where only bed time stories. One needed hope to believe in legends about letters and love. __All his hope had faded away a long time ago, what remained was the tiniest bit that he kept only to himself. _

_He hoped time would pass swiftly, so she would join him, finally. When that time would come, he would finally speak the truth. She deserved it. His Rikku. _


End file.
